John Gorman made 261 appearances for Carlisle between September 1970 and November 1976. He scored 5 goals in that time and he earned a reputation as an excellent left full back who was pretty damned useful going forward as well.

Born in Winchburgh on 16th August 1949, John developed into a strong determined footballer who slotted easily into the role of defender. Glasgow Celtic signed the youngster looking to nurture him in their Youth and reserve ranks, but first team opportunities in a squad with huge resources were few and far between.

Ian MacFarlane made John one of his first signings for United in September 1970 for a fee believed to be in the region of £15,000, (editors note - I'm pretty sure it was less than this but can't find exact details anywhere. If anyone knows, please e-mail me). Gorman worked hard in the reserves and made his debut in the best possible manner - assisting with 3 of the goals in the 6-0 hammering of Portsmouth at Brunton Park on 5th December 1970. He became the club's regular left back from that day onwards. He made 25 appearances in total that season, taking to his first real taste of professional football like a duck to water.

Gorman never missed a game in the 1971/72 season and scored his first two goals for the club in the bargain. It was his 61st League appearance for the club that saw him clinch the goal that killed off Bristol City in a home in early April 1972. Having found the goal scoring experience to be one he quite enjoyed, he scored the first of a 3-1 victory against Fulham in United's next home match. He was voted Player of the Season by both the playing staff and the supporters and was firmly embedded as a club legend.

1972/73 saw him make 45 more appearances and score his last 3 goals for the club. He has the dubious honour of never having been on the losing side when he scored. With that statistic in mind, a few more than five goals would have been appreciated. He missed only two games of the 1973/74 season that took Carlisle to the First Division, and was once more voted Player of the Season. His performance in the final game that gave United the required victory to clinch promotion was described as 'an all round display of footballing quality,' by a local paper.

Squad mixing and matching meant that Gorman made 36 appearances during the Division One season, as Alan Ashman struggled to find the combination that would keep Carlisle up. It wasn't to be and they were relegated. Yet again, Gorman never missed a game of the 1975/76 season as The Blues only just avoided a successive relegation, finishing fourth from bottom. His consistently outstanding performances as an attacking full back were, by now, pulling alot of interest and rumours of proposed moves were circulating weekly. Some said Celtic, others said Burnley, but the consistently regurgitated rumour that seemed to hold most truth was that Spurs had declared an interest.

By the time the 1976/77 season started the Spurs rumour had developed in to fact. Transfer talks were drawn out and Gorman eventually packed his bags and left for London, for £60,000, in November 1976. Carlisle were relegated that season and many cynics point to that move as the reason. Gorman played for Tottenham as if he had been playing top-flight football all his life. Unluckily for him, just 15 games in to his Spurs career he was on the wrong end of a horror tackle by Liverpool's Jimmy Case. He was never to fully recover and he was released in 1979.

He did go on to play in the American Leagues for 6 years and returned to England in 1986 to take the coach's job at Gillingham. Two years later he moved to Orient, and he even applied for the vacant managers post at Carlisle United in 1991 in tandem with long time friend and colleague Les O'Neill. On confirmation that he had not landed the job he joined Glenn Hoddle at Swindon Town, later going on to manage the team himself, though he couldn't save them from the drop out of the Premiership. He has since assisted Hoddle with England and Southampton, and is now Glenn's assistant coach at Tottenham Hotspur.

John Gorman's injury undoubtedly robbed football of a potential all time great. His ability shone like a beacon, leading to his three time honour of being voted Carlisle's Player of the Season and an eventual move to a big club. 'Absolute quality' is the way one long time fan described Gorman. I won't argue with that.